Head of Payment Operations

BACS, FP, SEPA, SWIFT, ACH,  Money Market, FX spots / fwds, bonds, vanilla derivatives

Fully remote 

 Our client is a global fintech with a cutting edge USP. Offering fully remote work, this is a fantastic opportunity to take your career to the next level  in a collaborative and dynamic environment about to launch a ground-breaking financial product.

We’re looking for a Head of Payment Operations to lead the team responsible for payment operations and reconciliations including,, retail payment flows (FasterPayments, BACS, SEPA, SWIFT, ACH…), Mastercard & VISA debit card activities, treasury activities, and manage related exceptions, disputes, investigations and resolutions.

This is a senior management role where you  will be required to set objectives, key performance metrics, and priorities, as well as the company's payment strategies globally.

You  will work with vendors to optimize customer experience, success rates, ensuring adherence to service level agreements, and manage the day-to-day activities performed by key partners.

You will be responsible for :

• Leading the payment operations team to deliver high standard operational support including setting up targets, preparing deliverables, and conducting reviews to maintain agreed internal quality standards / SLAs.
• Developing and driving implementation of leading best practice back office operations strategies and processes
• Driving Objective Key Results related to the department and optimise for key performance metrics for back office operations
• Articulating  improvement areas and driving efficiency within the division.
• ­Setting up a fit-for-purpose operational framework including fully documented policies, processes & procedures, internal controls, and KPIs.
• ­End to end management of all VISA / MC debit card processing activities, including settlements, chargebacks, and reconciliations.
• Ensuring inbound and outbound payments are reconciled against source system and bank statements on a daily basis
• ­Managing operational relationships with correspondent banks and other partners/vendors.
• ­Leading end to end investigations for all payments / debit card operational issues and exceptions
• ­Evaluating, recommending and partnering with internal and external stakeholders to develop new strategies and technologies
• ­Supporting and contributing to identifying and implementing operational efficiencies
• ­Identify, justify and support new projects related to the overall improvement of payments operations and reconciliations  
• Provide coaching and training to subordinates to build up a resilient best-in-class team
• ­Ensure all processes adhere to legal / regulatory requirements, internal policies and guidelines
• Support Audit, Compliance and other teams as needed
• Produce periodic cash forecasts to ensure funds are available for payment processing

Skills needed

• Proven track record in change management and building and scaling an operations function
• Expert knowledge of low and high-value payment clearing schemes, in particular, those around USD international cross border payments. 
• Expert knowledge of SWIFT in a cross-border payments context, including MT103, MT101 and MT202 message types
• Experience of Straight Through Payment Processing and best in class systems
• Expert knowledge of handling payment exceptions and manual payments
• Experience in reconciliation between payment systems and back-office/bank statements
• Knowledge of sweeping and pooling of funds for payment processing and settlement
• Good understanding of regulatory and compliance requirements for international USD payments (BACS, FP, SEPA, SWIFT, ACH)
• Good knowledge of treasury products and activities, including  Money Market, FX spots / fwds, bonds, vanilla derivatives, sweeping and pooling of funds for payment processing and settlement
• In depth knowledge of principles, policies, and practices related to payment operations and  banking, as well as expertise in digital payment processing including current industry processing models and new trends in the FinTech payment landscape.
• Personal resilience and ability to perform effectively in a high-pressure environment with a positive "can do" attitude and a positive attitude to change
• Ability to develop new policies and procedures in response to, and in anticipation of, changes in the business and regulatory environment.
• Excellent analytical, leadership, interpersonal and management skills
• Self-starter, resourceful, able to work independently and as a team
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal

Desired qualifications

• 15+ years of operations experience including a minimum of 8 years at managerial level within a well-established bank or regulated FinTech business in Europe